


Riding Restless

by InfraVioletUltraRed



Series: From Radish Farmer to the Zora Royal Consort [18]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, possibly out of order
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-14 14:44:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18950224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfraVioletUltraRed/pseuds/InfraVioletUltraRed
Summary: Reader goes on a little trip out of the Domain, and gets more than they bargained for... but realizes how much they have. c:





	Riding Restless

“Have my horse brought to the end of the great bridge, please,” you said to one of the guards hovering nearby as you and Sidon sat in the throne room, a little to the side of Dorephan. The guard took off for the little stable that had been erected for your horse when you came to stay for good. Then, you stood.

“Is everything all right, my dear?” Sidon asked you, reaching for the edge of your clothing.

“I’m okay,” you told him, rolling your shoulders back. “I’m just getting restless, so I thought a little ride might help me feel better. Clear my head.”

“I see.” He looked down at you with nothing but adoration. “Be safe, then. When do you expect to return?”

“Before sundown, I think,” you said after a moment you’d taken to think about it. “I don’t plan to be gone long. I’ll take my bow with, if that will make you feel better.”

“It would.”

You smiled at him. “All right then.”

And with that, you set off to find the guard and your horse. You still had no idea what it was about the luminous stone bridge that made your horse so afraid, but she reared up whenever she was made to cross it. So she had to be led the long way around from her stable, so you could meet her at the bridge’s end.

And there she was, aquatic flowers still braided into her mane. You clambered into the saddle, and with a little wave to the Zora guard, off you trotted.

You didn’t really have a destination in mind; you wanted to get out of the area around the Domain for a little while, but you didn’t plan to go too far. You were taking your horse out for some exercise, and getting yourself a change of scenery.

It was peaceful, galloping through Hyrule, hearing nothing around other than the babble of the river beside you and your horse’s breaths as she carried you through the land.

Hyrule was beautiful, especially in the spring, when the flowers were beginning to bloom and the miles upon miles of grass were such a vibrant green.

It was a shame you had rarely left Kakariko Village as a child, and rarely left the Zora’s Domain now. But then, they too were beautiful in myriad ways. And there was a lot to love about them other than their beauty that kept you there– your parents and the radish farm in Kakariko, and Sidon in the Domain.

And you were grateful (not that it came as a surprise) that Sidon let you have this degree of independence, that he let you take reins in hand and go gallivant through the fields for a while when you felt too cooped up in the confines of his home.

‘Let you’ only in the sense that even in this peacetime, Hyrule could be a dangerous place, and you were the consort. He’d be losing more than his beloved if anything—goddess forbid—happened to you. Though you had the feeling even without his duty to his people and the position both of you held as future rulers, he would be the same degree of protective over you when you went out like this.

Hence the bow. He’d had it custom made for you.  The bow you’d arrived at the Domain with was perfectly fine for marksmanship training with him, but when you needed something for self-defense, he’d prefer you to have something with plenty of power. That was how he’d explained it to you the day he gave you the bow. It was powerful  _and_  pretty, carefully carved and embossed, and the arrow rest made of luminous stone.

“It’s like you in that way,” he’d replied to you when you commented as much on the bow’s appearance.

But you rarely used it, and even more rarely for anything especially harmful. That is, it was strong enough that you sent arrows flying great distances, able to keep things away from you by the time you’d fully spotted them. They never saw it coming (and you never shot to kill, either; you didn’t need to do more than ensure your safe passage).

But you hadn’t been riding for too terribly long when you came across a friendly face. Link looked up from whatever he’d been eating while seated next to his campfire, and smiled at you, cheeks puffing out like an Octorok’s.

“Can I borrow your horse?” he asked you. He swallowed. “I have to go further out than normal. I’ll take good care of her. I have Endura carrots and everything.” He put out his fire, then came over to you, rubbing your horse’s nose.  You made a face, the corner of your mouth pulling inward.  Link’s eyes widened. “It’s okay, I can walk.”

You swung down from the saddle, handing the reins over to Link.

“You’re the best. I should bring her back to the Domain, right?”

You nodded, patting the side of your horse’s neck. “Yeah, and someone there will put her away.”

Link nodded along with your instructions. “You sure you don’t need her? You’re far from home.”

You couldn’t help a little laugh. The clipped sentence was what did it. “I’ll be okay.”

“Looks like rain,” Link continued.

“I live in a water kingdom now,” you reassured him. “I can get a little wet.”

“If you insist.” Link spurred your horse on, calling out a “thank you!” over his shoulder.

Well, you wouldn’t be home by sunset  _now_.  You turned around and started heading back upstream, to return to the Domain.

You were moving at a pretty steady clip, but unfortunately, it didn’t just  _look_ like rain anymore. You were trudging up a hill, halfway home, when the skies opened up, pouring sheets of rain onto you, soaking your clothing, and bringing a chill on the breeze.

And the sun was going down, so it was only going to get less pleasant out.

You tried to move a little faster, but now the dirt was turning to mud and the rock was slippery.

You’d make it. You’d made it before.

_

It was a harder journey than you’d been expecting to make, but you had finally arrived at the end of the great bridge once again. Before you could set foot on it, though, a blur, almost burgundy in the low light, sprang up from in front of it.

“My pearl! I have been waiting for hours! Where is your horse? You’re sopping wet.” He looked you over. “Did something happen? Was your bow not enough to defend yourself?”

“I’m okay, Sidon,” you reassured him. “Nothing happened. I saw Link and lent him my horse for the night.”

“You came back here  _on foot_? In the pounding rain?”

You nodded, feeling your hair starting to stick to your skin in odd places.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“Freezing,” you told him honestly.

“Well, we better remedy that. Should I have a bath drawn for you? Fresh clothes pulled?”

You nodded again, getting too tired to say much.

“You look exhausted, my darling.” He came to your side, then scooped you up. “So you won’t walk another step! Come now, I’ll get you inside and then you can dry off and warm up. And eat something. I doubt you did on your little excursion.”

“Okay,” you sighed, resting your head against Sidon’s chest.

“And one last thing. I was worried when you left so suddenly. Do you feel better now?”

You felt secure, even several feet off the ground, in Sidon’s arms. And the Domain was so pretty at night, pillars glowing a lovely teal… your home, lit up just for you and the Zora. Yeah, it felt cramped sometimes, trying to find a dry spot for yourself, but you were cared-for and happy, and you could always take a little trip for some fresh air. And Sidon would be waiting for you to come back.

“I do,” you mumbled. “Much better.”


End file.
